http://www.foxnews.com/politics/first100days/2009/03/18/blame-game-deepens-aig-outrage-gop-electoral-opening/After two straight electoral drubbings, Republicans finally might have found a path to the soul of the voters: AIG.
The GOP tried to harness taxpayer outrage last month when Congress was debating a stimulus package five times bigger than the first one. But the package passed, and Democrats' poll numbers only increased.
Voter outrage could be more consolidated this time, following revelations that bailed-out American International Group paid $165 million in bonuses to employees at a rogue financial unit.
Though lawmakers have tried to assure angry constituents they're doing their utmost to retrieve the money, Republicans are using their out-of-power status to vilify Democrats for allegedly permitting the bonuses on their watch.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee excoriated Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in a memo Wednesday, saying congressional Democrats bear responsibility for the "utter disaster." The group pointed to a provision included in the stimulus package that exempted companies like AIG from limitations on bonuses.
"As the majority leader, Senator Reid controls the agenda and he had the power to prevent this debacle," spokeswoman Amber Wilkerson said in the statement.
While GOP approval ratings are still nothing to write home about, support for Democrats is starting to slip.
Republicans moved ahead of Democrats on Tuesday in a Rasmussen congressional poll for the first time in years.
"Even if it reversed in the next day or two and goes back and forth, the long-term trend here is huge," said Dick Morris, former Bill Clinton adviser, referring to the survey.
The poll, which asks voters whether they would vote for a Democratic or Republican candidate if their congressional election were held today, gave Republicans a 41-to-39 percent advantage.
The latest survey polled 3,500 likely voters and had a margin of error of 1 percentage point. Democrats were holding a 6-to-7 point advantage in the poll for the first several weeks of the year.
But as Capitol Hill breaks down into a melee of finger-pointing over the AIG bonuses, Republicans are getting personal. And they're aiming higher in their criticism.
Though the GOP was loath to criticize President Obama directly during the stimulus debate -- using Democratic congressional leaders as punching bags instead -- Republicans turned fire on the Obama administration this week.
House Minority Whip Eric Cantor said the White House is in "disarray."
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a statement Wednesday that the situation is an "offense to taxpayers" and called on the administration to fix the mess so it never happens again.
"We're going to get to the bottom of it -- even if the Department of Treasury hasn't," he said. "The Treasury Department was supposed to be minding the store. ... Obviously, they fell asleep on the job. Well, they need to wake up."
Support for government-backed bailouts was already eroding before the AIG flap. A Pew Research Center poll from last week found 87 percent of people are either angry or bothered by bank bailouts.
The AIG quagmire has put the White House, and in turn Democrats in Congress, in a tight spot.
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs spent the last few days being peppered with critical questions about the bailout at his daily briefings, at a time when Obama is trying to steer focus toward his sweeping $3.6 trillion budget proposal.
And Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut is fielding criticism for authoring the amendment in the stimulus package that included the provision exempting companies like AIG from limitations on previously agreed-to bonuses. Dodd, though, says that provision was not in his original proposal.
Still, Republicans have a long way to go to regain voter confidence.
A new Pew poll found support for Republican congressional leaders has fallen from 34 percent in February to 28 percent -- while Democratic congressional leaders were clocking in with about 47 percent approval.
John Feehery, a Republican strategist and one-time aide to former House Speaker Dennis Hastert, said the AIG issue gives Republicans an opening -- but they have to build on it and be careful not to trample on their own free-market principles in the process.
"The good news for Republicans is this will stoke a populous outrage against the Congress and the White House," he said. "You're not going to win the majority on one issue. You have to sort of chip away at the credibility of congressional leaders."
The Pew poll underscored the problem the Republican Party continues to have with questions about its own leadership. Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele has come under fire for making a string of gaffes, and Democrats have exploited the unrest by claiming talk show host Rush Limbaugh speaks for the GOP.
The Pew poll showed 58 percent of people say they do not know who's in charge in the party, and 15 percent say there is no leader.
Topic: GOP moves ahead of Dems in polls (First time in years). AIG is the key!!!! (Read 552 times)